Beirut explosion : medical professionals and first responders’ use of defense mechanisms

Abstract

The Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, was a mass casualty event that took the lives of over 200 individuals. In addition to the loss of lives, there was an increased strain on the medical and non-medical professionals. Medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, and non-medical responders, such as emergency medical technicians and firefighters. When experiencing life threatening and mass casualty events, there are several effects on the entire society. When experiencing extreme stress, individuals rely more heavily on their use of defense mechanisms to adapt and make sense of the situation. The current study explores the use of defense mechanisms by medical and non-medical professionals when experiencing extreme stress situations. An exploratory quantitative study was conducted to explore the defense mechanisms used by non-medical and medical professionals when experiencing extreme disasters. This research highlighted the use of certain defense mechanisms by non-medical professionals, such as altruism, suppression, rationalization, humor, projective identification, omnipotence, and splitting. Implications of the current research and future directions for research are then highlighted.